The Social Inference Lab investigates a variety of topics in the following general areas: (1) perspective taking and mental-state reasoning; (2) cognitive processes involved in social categorization, inference, and judgment; and (3) stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination.
In a primary line of research, we study perspective taking and its implications for negotiating socially diverse environments. We explore how perceiver-based factors (e.g., incidental emotions), target-based factors (e.g., social group membership), and contextual factors (e.g., time pressure) shape the ability to intuit what other people see, believe, and like. We also examine how actively considering others' thoughts and feelings affects the subtle and not-so-subtle biases that commonly pervade intergroup encounters and social inference more generally.
In another line of research, we study the operation of intergroup bias toward people with different combinations of social identities. We investigate whether (and to what extent) biases pertaining to violence and criminality that are commonly expressed toward young Black men are also expressed toward Black people with other identity combinations (young Black women, older Black men, young Black boys and girls). We're also interested in whether the magnitude of such racial biases differs depending on which of a person's multiple identities is the focus of perceivers' attention.
Finally, we study how incidentally activated processes (often in conjunction with more deliberately enacted ones) guide people's impressions and mental representations of others. We're particularly interested in how a greater understanding of these processes can inform important social issues, such as intergroup conflict and diversity management.
In a primary line of research, we study perspective taking and its implications for negotiating socially diverse environments. We explore how perceiver-based factors (e.g., incidental emotions), target-based factors (e.g., social group membership), and contextual factors (e.g., time pressure) shape the ability to intuit what other people see, believe, and like. We also examine how actively considering others' thoughts and feelings affects the subtle and not-so-subtle biases that commonly pervade intergroup encounters and social inference more generally.
In another line of research, we study the operation of intergroup bias toward people with different combinations of social identities. We investigate whether (and to what extent) biases pertaining to violence and criminality that are commonly expressed toward young Black men are also expressed toward Black people with other identity combinations (young Black women, older Black men, young Black boys and girls). We're also interested in whether the magnitude of such racial biases differs depending on which of a person's multiple identities is the focus of perceivers' attention.
Finally, we study how incidentally activated processes (often in conjunction with more deliberately enacted ones) guide people's impressions and mental representations of others. We're particularly interested in how a greater understanding of these processes can inform important social issues, such as intergroup conflict and diversity management.
